Flaming bonds
by BloodiedCoreOfHope
Summary: The Tengu was never really supposed to be released, it held the Sorcerer down with its very energy, even trapped in a stone. When the Sorcerer releases the Tengu, in its desperation it does something no one could predict. The team, on the other hand, just want to know the source behind the mystery trail of wildfires. Randy can't protect his friend forever. DEAD FIC
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

Sharp sounds rung out against the backdrop of cheers. The clash of wood against metal, the crackling of fire blazing towards victory, the thud of a being the size of a building being thrown mercilessly against the ground… It was a sight to behold, if you weren't used to it, at least.

"Wrap it up, Randy! I got some gravy fries with my name on it and this cafeteria ain't opening any time soon!" Howard called out, bored. Behind the doors he was leaning against, dozens of students were running in the opposite direction.

Randy shot him a glare, raising the blunt of his sword to block a blow. "Maybe you should fight the monsters next time, Howard!" He grunted in exertion, and turned back to the battle, charging in with a cry and his sword raised above his head. A slash, a stab, a slice… The monster was slowly being worn down, without serious injury.

Finally, the Nomicon decided to chip in and point out the tiny bell hung on its belt, and Randy groaned aloud. "A bell? Come _on_! Band Geeks always get the hardest to destroy things!"

"Oh ho! You about ready to finish up? Those fries are getting _cold._ " Howard laughed, and promptly yelped as the monster's tail lashed into the door above him. "Seriously, man!"

Randy growled behind his mask, and leapt forward. He whipped out a sai, and stabbed it through the metal of the bell mercilessly. As the green smoke disappeared into the vents, he breathed a sigh of relief. He turned away and demasked under the cover of a smoke bomb as the monster's form deflated, revealing an unconscious student in ripped clothing.

Howard watched the Ninja demask, ignoring the runic circles and flaring light and snapping ribbons of fabric easily, and tapped his watch. "Three, two, one…"

Randy grinned, walking over to Howard. "Let's get the fries and sneak off, I'm hungry!"

Howard laughed nervously, "Yeah… About that."

"You ate the fries didn't you." Randy's tone was flat, exasperated.

"Hey! Lunch break was nearly over, you know how it is." His chubby friend patted his stomach with satisfaction, smirking.

"Ugh, fine…" Randy rolled his eyes, and the two left the cafeteria, easy grins on both of their faces. As they passed the many halls of the school, Randy felt a sense of unease growing in himself. Even though he had defeated the monster and everyone looked to be in good cheer, the pale green smokey tendrils of stank remained, reaching along the tops of corridors to converge somewhere. Eventually, Randy could stand it no longer and turned to Howard. "I'm going to check this out, cover for me, would you?" Howard shrugged in response, and Randy grinned, charging off to follow the mystery.

* * *

The Eye of the Carp. A historic gem dating back nearly a thousand years ago, to the time of the founding of Norrisville by early Japanese sailors who got very, _very_ lost. They had brought the stone with them on a long fishing journey believing it to be a good luck charm for fishers. Only the protectors of it- the Norisu Nine- knew its true origin. It was an ancient gem, beyond even their clan's time, that held back a mighty flame demon. The Tengu.

It was the Norisu Nine's sworn duty to protect the Tengu Stone from harm, as that would release the demon from its slumber, however, they held their duty secret, only protecting from the shadows. When those fishermen took the gem from its place and began using it as the good luck charm, they sent their ninth member, the youngest son, with them to protect it on the trips.

Currently, it held a position as the Eye of the Carp, a protruding orange gem that added a touch of class to the mosaic, and also sealed a Sorcerer deep beneath the school with the power of the Tengu. Whenever it broke, the sorcerers shackles loosened somewhat, almost enough to break free, but it was a rare occasion indeed. Unless, of course, the Sorcerer forced it open with all of their dark and twisted magic themselves.

Randy skidded into the room, scarf flailing behind them in protest at the speed. He looked up at the stank trails, seeing them converging from all levels of the school into a hazy green tornado stabbing at the Tengu Stone, relentlessly, to no avail. He blanched, and kneeled in front of the stone waving the stank away to little effect. The green smoke soon obscured all, and he pressed his hands to the floor to steady himself.

One hand met not with the flat floor, but with the curved surface of the Tengu Stone. A crack resounded throughout the cavernous room. The green smoke dispersed instantly, retreating into the ventilation system, and Randy scrambled backwards as demonic energy unfurled from the small crack in the stone.

Soon the black miasma congealed and out of focus features formed, a wing here, legs there… Before long, a dark bird with a face white as bone was shifting and flapping its wings and screeching at the sky and Randy stared at it in blank, unresponsive shock. It took the bird leaping through him and falling apart only to reform behind him to realise what had happened.

He pulled his sword out from the pocket dimension in the back of his suit, and made a slash in the direction of the Tengu, hoping it would distract it enough to let him grab the stone. As he leapt towards the stone, the bird turned and charged him once more, setting itself alight midway. Randy rolled out of the attack's range, but the burning heat from the attack had his suit flaring red as it dealt with the flames by housing them in the feathers it was woven from. His sword had flown out of his hands and lay near the Tengu Stone.

The bird stood over it, and hissed at him when he approached, slamming one clawed foot down over it, protectively. Randy winced as another crack sounded, and the stone broke cleanly in half.

The bird picked the stone up, curious, and turned it over critically. Randy charged at it in that same moment, an exercise in futility, as the demon startled and soared ever higher through the floors that built up Norrisville High, burning flames of black and red destroying the architecture with ease. Randy followed, but when the Tengu disappeared halfway up the third floor, miasma unravelling and flying into a classroom, he felt fear clench his heart.

He charged into the classroom, sword at the ready, and braced himself against the flow of students. When the flow of panicked bodies ceased and he could move, he stared up in horror. Howard had been possessed once more by the Tengu, and the leering orange and blue swan like creature that stood hunched in the classroom was no less fierce. It blinked at him, then opened its beak in a feral snarl, unable to move.

Despite himself, Randy flinched. Still, it was temporarily restrained. He found himself letting out a breath he hadn't known he'd been holding as he scanned the room for the second part of the stone, clutching the half he held tightly in his hand. The Tengu breathed shallowly, cramped as it was, and Randy jumped more than a few times as it shifted in annoyance. Eventually, his eyes caught sight of the amber lump of rock, glinting in the light of the flames cast off by the Tengu's feathers. He walked carefully towards it, dodging overturned and broken tables and chairs.

Soon, he had both halves in his hands, and as he summoned the fiery red power to cause a fireball, preparing to set something on fire and provide a large enough flame for the mask to burn up in, but before he could do that, a loud creak rumbled from the direction of the Tengu. He paused, stopping in shock as the bird held the roof above its head with straining wings. The bird stared angrily in his direction, and he gulped. It breathed in deeply, opening its spike filled beak, and then _exhaled_ with a blast of blackish blue fire that stopped in the middle of the air, still and unmoving. Frozen.

Randy stared up at it, and after a moment of considering the situation, decided to attack it. His sword did not pierce the fireball, nor encounter any resistance. In fact, he tumbled into it easily, finding himself in an empty space, darkness surrounding him And when the blackish hellfire and the Tengu followed him into the impossible void, he didn't know what to do. Another screech from the Tengu had the flames moving to form a demented hula hoop. And then they were falling, again, and the Tengu was unconscious god knows how far above ground and it was all he could do to Ninja Rage the birds unconscious form into motion and save both their skins, landing heavily in an abandoned airhanger, before he fell unconscious himself.

* * *

 **A.N.**

 **Heyyy! CoreHope here with the first ever Young Justice and RC9GN crossover, so there's that. I hope that you enjoyed reading it- please leave a review. Any review. A review in coded welsh is better than no review. DM me with any questions or requests, and so on so forth. I like being contacted :D**

 **Anyway, this should update Thursdays. A time crunch test to see whether I can both finish something and make it good, without spending too long on each part. As this is the sixth version, and unedited... Yep.**


	2. Chapter 2

Batman looked out upon the team coldly, observing them. While slightly nervous of his scrutiny, they all were eager to set off on another mission. Honestly, he didn't think this mission was going to be too much trouble, given what it was.

"There have been a string of wildfires moving rapidly east from Oregon, on course to reach the northwestern Wyoming border tonight." He saw, out of the corner of the eye, the screen behind him changing to show the exact predicted location and previous locations on a map. "Your goal is to investigate the source of the fires, and neutralise it if possible."

The team responded in a buzz of confirmative statement, quieting quickly. He sent them off to prepare for the mission, and observed their reactions. 

Robin had nodded, ready to accept the mission and already having his holo watch pull up data on the previous fires with a slight smile, easing into the research skills he was so renowned for. Miss Martian seemed uneasy, as did Aqualad. Likely due to their physiology, he supposed. An unfortunate weakness. Kid Flash seemed to be buzzing with excitement, the picture of boyish energy, and Artemis appeared curious, but indifferent, while Superboy displayed little emotion.

The team was ready, as usual.

* * *

Night fell on the Wyoming border, and apart from a few bison shuffling towards the direction of their shelter for the night, nothing could be seen. Rolling fields of green stretched on towards the distance, and a crescent moon peaked blearily above the horizon's forest trim. The forests' shadows curled out with creeping hands, grasping for unknown objects. Calm, but all the more dangerous for it, perhaps. 

Kid Flash watched for signs of activity from the window of the Bioship, waiting for it to land impatiently. "I can't see anything weird, you sure this is the right place, babe?"

M'gann rolled her eyes, brushing off the silly nickname he'd addressed her with easily. "Yes, Wally. I'm very certain. These are the coordinates Batman gave me, the fires should be starting about now, so we need to keep an eye out for what's causing them."

Robin grinned, and turned in his seat. "Wally has a point, M'gann. We're not seeing anything unusual from here." 

Aqualad nodded. "Perhaps you should land the Bioship, M'gann. We can split into teams and investigate different areas."

Kid Flash's eyes lit up in excitement, and M'gann gave a dramatic sigh. "Fine, boys." There was no malice in her tone, only humour as she steered the ship to a clearing and landed it gently.

"For teams, let's go in groups of two for now. Kid Flash and Artemis-"

"Score!" Kid Flash cheered. Artemis elbowed him sharply, and he had the decency to look a little sheepish.

Aqualad smiled, "Will investigate the far northern section of the coordinates. Miss Martian and Superboy can go for the western section, and Robin and myself will investigate the southern and eastern sections. Any objections?"

The team shook their heads no, settling into work mode, and Miss Martian linked them up for the journey. The mission was starting.

* * *

"I'm bored." Kid Flash complained, keeping pace with Artemis and looking for all the world as though he itched to run forwards into the distance rather than to stroll- walk briskly, really, but to a speedster everything is a stroll- with his team mate.. "We've been at this for half an hour and nothing apart from a few bison have even walked past us! Where's the fire, I ask!"

"And I'm annoyed, looks like we're a pair. " Artemis ground out. "Just listen instead of complaining, maybe you'll catch a sound faster than me." She was only half sarcastic, as bored as he was of just walking through the woods without a clear objective beyond 'investigate the area`.

The black clad speedster grumbled to himself, but quietened. After a few minutes, he stiffened, and looked to the sky. "Did you hear that?" Air being pushed down, like wingbeats but impossibly loud, and the faint crackle of fire.

Artemis narrowed her eyes. "Yeah, I hear it."

"We've got something, sounds like some sort of giant bird but we haven't got visual yet."

"Get to a place you can see what's happening, tell us more then." Aqualad's orders were calm, precise. Befitting of a leader, Artemis thought idly as she ascended a tall tree with grappling arrows. Kid Flash simply ran up the side of a tree, and she winced at the streak of burnt wood he left behind him. Subtlety was not his specialty. 

"Oh crap. Now that's a big chicken." Kid Flash said from his perch, surprise rendering him wordless.

"What?" Artemis scrabbled for a higher viewpoint and it took her only moments before she spotted it. Lit up with constant flares of red, streaking flames tumbling off its feathers, a bird. It resembled a swan, or perhaps a bird of paradise. Orange with blue on its chest and wings, and a long rough feathered neck. It flapped its wings with purpose, powerful and deadly, and Artemis felt her heart sink.

"Big, swan like creature. Size of a small house. Fire is coming off of its body, and its just flying around for now." Artemis gave the description robotically, shocked as she was by the sheer size of the thing.

"And it's not being hurt by that?" Robin's voice was incredulous.

"Not at all... " Kid Flash jumped in, still eying the bird up cautiously. "I think this is our guy, so what we gonna do?"

"Let's meet up first, and decide what to do from there… We don't know if its sentient, controlled, or just some mutant animal. A rash decision would be ill advised."

Aqualad's plan was sound, really. He forgot to account for two things, though. The Tengu having very good hearing, and Superboy being loud. Otherwise, it would've gone off without a hitch.

As Superboy leapt through the trees in the direction indicated by the link, he landed heavily upon each branch and set off again. The Tengu noticed this easily, since Superboy wasn't exactly trying to be stealthy, and changed course. It soared up first, gathering flames around its body like a comet, and then dived down, wings pulled taut to its sides for maximum speed as a fiery trail formed behind it. Hearing the crackle of flames approaching, Superboy looked up. He only had enough time to cross his arms in a cross over his head, hoping to protect himself even a little against the onslaught of fire and the open maw of the flaming beast.

A moment passed, and nothing happened. He slowly removed his hands from over his head, and gasped. "That's different." The whole bird had turned to the red of molten metal, a orangish heat haze in place as it struggled to move. It was moving backwards, slow clumsy steps with wings fighting to flap. The trees around the battle site were catching alight quickly, and he leapt away to a safer location, worried for his safety.

"M'gann, are you doing that?"

Miss Martian shook her head, although she knew that he couldn't see it. "No, I don't know what is." The concern in her voice was clear to everyone, and Superboy felt his chest tighten. Could it be another mind controlled creature, like the genomorphs? Though the mind control looked to have been quite sudden… He frowned, half an idea forming in his mind from what he could see of the situation. He did not like the idea.

"I'm going to check something out." He growled idea of something being controlled like that had him clenching his fists, and before he even fully registered what he was doing he was already on the back of the bird, eyes searching wildly for some sort of source for the control as the flames licked at his clothes. Nothing presented itself immediately, and he turned in frustration, before freezing. Stumbling backwards through the undergrowth, arms stiff by their side and a focused expression on what he could see of their face, which wasn't much given their mask, was a person. Short, compared to himself. A primarily red bodysuit with black lowlights and a scarf. Glowing with the same heat haze energy, and evidently controlling the bird. 

He saw red, half literally, given the guy was bright red in the dark forest and it irritated his eyes. With a cry, he leapt forwards and tackled the other guy to the ground. For a moment they rolled together, a scrabbling mess of limbs and scarf and sash. After a moment of their fighting, the red colour faded, and suddenly they were black with red stripes and the bird was screaming in the background. Superboy froze for but a moment, before, picking them up by the scarf easily.

"You'll hurt…" The guy breathed out, struggling to talk because of the death grip his scarf was held in, and he sounded so young that Superboy almost slackened his grip in surprise. "You'll hurt Tengu if you hurt me… Need stone…"

"I think I've got the guy." Superboy said through the link, hoisting him up further by their very convenient scarf. "Who are you, and what is that bird?" The blue eyes looked at him from behind the mask, burning with some unknown emotion, although he did appear to be weakening.

"Superboy, drop him. It's hurting that bird." M'gann's voice buzzed in the back of his head, and he turned to confirm the strange statement. The bird was indeed clawing at its neck ineffectually with its wings. With a grunt, he dropped the person from the strangle hold into a lighter restraining grip, and watched as the bird stopped its strange behaviour. After a moment of standing still, frozen, it slumped down to the ground, and curled up, flames licking off its body as it appeared to sleep. The boy glared at him, hands tightening in emotion despite the lack of strength he must be feeling from the grip he'd been in moments before..

"Superboy, we are all here. Perhaps another should take over the interrogation?"

"This guy was controlling the bird." Superboy ground out mentally, glaring at the boy, hoping the others would get the memo and leave him to it. The boy stared back, slightly uncomfortable with the way Superboy was still gripping his scarf despite now being on the ground. It made for awkward eye contact.

"Well… Maybe I could link us his thoughts? Perhaps he'll reveal something while you talk to him?"

A momentary pause, as Superboy weighed up the idea. "Fine."

"Everyone, remember that this link is two way." Aqualad's orders rang out clearly in the Team's head, and they all indicated their assent. With a nod that only she could really see Miss Martian activated the link, and they listened with baited breath. 

Superboy took a deep breath, appearing to calm himself a little, not that it did much. "How did you control that bird?"

"We're linked?" The boy sounded exasperated, and appeared to be over the breathing problems caused by a superhuman strangle surprisingly quickly. "Jeeze, don't you listen?" Shortly after he finished speaking, his thoughts started flowing into their minds, no filter at all. Didn't realise he was on speakerphone, Superboy smiled internally as he and the others listened. "I wonder who this kid is, did McFist brainwash him or something? I'm still nowhere near Norrisville, so how could he have found out? Or maybe he's aligned with the Áýàñ÷àýà¾² åúûñú² åýçþö² ÿóù÷² æúûüõá¿"

Miss Martian involuntarily let a quiet, pained, cry escape her lips, and the others fell to their knees and clutched their heads, eyes screwed shut in an attempt to escape the nightmarish sensory overload that had come on with no warning. Superboy cringed heavily, the mental assault affecting him just as much, even though he had to pretend it didn't for the sake of their investigation. The mind link cut off sharply, the dark screeching madness that had overtaken the mind link fading like the silence that hangs in the air after a gunshot.

"How are you linked?" Superboy ground out, holding the scarf tighter for assurance that the boy wouldn't run away.

"The ninja and the tengu are forever linked- come on! Don't you guys know anything?" They seemed a mixture of annoyed and amused, as though this situation was either a mere inconvenience or as though they had told an inside joke to someone not in the know. With the mind link down until Miss Martian recovered and re-established it between just the team mates, there was no way to tell.

"Who are you?" Superboy looked him in the eyes, careful to catalogue all he could of the concealed expression. 

"Ninja. And you?" Although the words were polite, they were fueled with a small amount of anger, it seemed. It couldn't hurt to indulge him, Superboy thought, although that he didn't know that was a little surprising.

"Superboy. What is that bird?"

"My- The Tengu."

"My?! Do you think you own it or something?" Superboy tugged carefully, but no less dangerously, on the scarf, bringing him up to eye level for a moment and reminding him who was in control of the situation before letting him down. The Ninja let out a breathy sigh, whatever energy he had drizzling out of him like so much heavy treacle.

"No! It's nothing like that- it's just… " The Ninja's posture slumped. "I need the other part of the stone. Then I can be back home. Then he can…" They sighed, trailing off. "Look- just let me go. I'm going to find the other half of the stone, and I can just disappear. You won't have to see me again." Whatever emotion had been fueling them before had definitively dispersed, and suddenly the person Superboy was holding seemed less like a warrior or ruler or soldier, and more like someone very, very tired who just wanted to sit down and rest.

Superboy felt the psychic twinge that indicated the link was active, and instantly voices filled his head, the presence of everyone settling down as they adjusted to it. Soon, Robin's voice spoke clearly amidst the fading chatter.. "Ask him about the stone, SB. Maybe it's a magic artifact and we can get Zatara, or maybe Captain Marvel to see if it's dangerous. Might make deciding what to do with this guy easier if we know what it is."

"You really want to take this to the league?" Although he wasn't speaking with his voice, the team could practically hear the snort of disapproval from Wally. "This could totally be a big break for the Team!"

"Quiet." Superboy hissed. "Why do you need the stone?"

"So I can get rid of the Tengu!" The boy straightened up, suddenly filled with a righteous fury once more.

"You mean kill it?"

"No- just seal it away. It's a demon that's-" He cut himself off, and glared. "Are you gonna let me go, or not? I have a stone to be tracking down-"

"No."

"What?"

"Why, Connor?"

"Dude-!"

Superboy shook off the anxious protests of his teammates, and glared right back at his captive. For a moment, there was silence, then he spoke- "No. Because we're taking you- and your little bird friend back to our base." 

The team protested, but Superboy had dragged the boy easily over to the hidden Bioship before anyone could get a real objection through his head. As he was looking for something to restrain him with, and to contain the bird, he realised one crucial problem. The bird, a heap of orange feathers and fire, was on fire still. It never seemed to stop, a cycle of flares and embers glittering over its feathers, in constant changing motion. And martians can't take heat. Nor could the living martian technology that made up the bioship.

"Superboy…" Aqualad began, aloud. "We can't take him back on the bioship. Martians can't deal well with heat, and neither can atlanteans." As he spoke, he was looking a little ill from the overexposure he'd already had during the battle and the proximity to the fiery bird.

The young clone shot him a look, and released the Ninja from the tight grasp. "What do you want us to do, then?"

Before anyone could speak up with an idea, the Ninja straightened up and had a glint in his eyes. "I could follow you, you know. The Tengu can fly, for all that he looks like an emu."

The team shared a look, and Aqualad furrowed his brow, pondering the situation "On one hand, if he- and his companion- aren't malevolent and the fires are merely a consequence of the demon he's trying to seal away. there is little harm in letting him discover Mount Justice. We may even be able to help him on his quest. He is clearly not a civilian, after all. But on the other hand… If he is a villain, or if he's working for one, this could be a dangerous mistake indeed."

"I think it's a risk we should take." Miss Martian spoke first, looking at them anxiously. "His mind felt more scared than aggressive, even when he was just in conversation."

"I want to get that bird out of his control, and find out what he's doing to it. After I found Wolf…" Superboy did not say anything more, but the team didn't need to hear anything more. They knew his decision from that alone.

"I think the cave is a pretty dangerous place to put them. They could escape and attack the league easily." Artemis conveyed her annoyance at the idea easily, and Wally nodded.

"I don't think it's safe to bring them back, we should probably detain them somewhere safer- like belle reve or something."

"Well I for one, think its a pretty good plan." Robin grinned at the team. "When we take them in we have plenty of restraints and tools which would help us with finding out what the heck they're doing here alot, and the League would be ready to step in if we accidentally released a demon fire bird and its handler-" Wally snickered, and Robin shot him a glare. "So I think it's fine."

"Three against two… Apologies, Artemis, Kid Flash." The team members grumbled, but acquiesced.

Ninja looked up at that moment, and his eyes held that glint of mirth again. "Oh, you guys done talking?"

Artemis started, "How did you know we were talking?"

Ninja rolled his eyes. "I talk to a book all the time, I know what it looks like to be talking in your head."

"A… Book?"

"Yeah, 800 year old magical book of ninja wisdom. Sucks your soul out, too. We going now, or…?" 

"Reckon this guy's nuts, or magic?" Wally's voice was surprised, and a little annoyed. 

"Probably both. I mean, he has a scarf and is supposedly a ninja. Seriously, what sort of ninja wears a scarf?" Robin snarked.

Wally looked at Robin's cape pointedly. "Pot kettle, much?"

Aqualad cleared his throat, "Yes. We will be heading off, but please don't fly too close to the ship."

"Sure, that's a bit wonk since I don't know where we're going, but alright." The Ninja shrugged, and ran into the woods to get the bird to wake up. Superboy clenched his fist around open air when he tried to stop him, and the Kryptonian glared at him, listening carefully. the Ninja kneeled gently in front of the bird, shaking its wing gently, heedless of the flames licking over his suit and colouring it crimson. Only Superboy's enhanced hearing allowed him to hear the whispered words of the Ninja to the bird. "C'mon buddy, just this trip. We'll find the stone soon, don't worry, alright? We'll be back to punching graves in no time..."

Superboy stayed quiet about this conversation the whole trip back, uncertain of what to make of the bond the boy displayed with the creature.

 **A.N.  
**  
 **And that's a wrap! Superboy really took over this chapter, I didn't plan for him to have such a central role, but he just wrote himself in with his bull headed concern that I couldn't say no.**

 **To everyone who reviewed last chapter- thank you so very much! I read every one of your reviews and they've all touched my heart. I'm dedicating this chapter to NoSignalBlueScreen, for making me smile when I checked my inbox after a bad day. Please leave a review, even a simple one word review is wonderful to  
see.**

 **I'll leave off with a question, this time. Whom among the League do you believe would know who the Ninja is, and why?**

 **CoreHope signing out.**

 **EDIT 12.09.2018: Changed around some wording and edited Superboy's motivations for timeline consistency.**


	3. Chapter 3

Randy found it all too easy, after the weeks of being on the run following the faint pulse of the half of the Tengu Stone he possessed, to relax into the flaming back of his friend's possessed form. Heat washed over the black feather woven fabric that made up his suit, dying it red as it passed in those curling ribbons of red. He stood between the massive wings, scarf streaming behind him and fire licking over his form. He found himself in a pleasant numbness, unaware of anything but his purpose and his height off the ground.

Doodles flickered in the corner of his vision, pointing out the bio ship unusually aggressively- bright red and yellow and green circles and spikes and swords pointing at the unusual craft. The pulse of the stone grew stronger every wingbeat closer they drew to their final location- located half a country away. Howard's body strained under the effort, and by the time they were over Michigan, almost there but still so very far, he was almost dropping out of the sky.

Randy whispered encouragements to his friend, soft comforts until he finally drifted out of consciousness, in the shadow of the mountain they were meant to stop at, still flapping those tired wings. As those limbs grew limp and the duo started plummeting, Randy pulled on the burning fire he could always feel in the mask since he'd burnt it to trap the Tengu all those months ago, and allowed the flames to envelop them both as he pushed for the massive bird to land safely atop the craggy ridges.

Moments after the duos heavy landing, a red blur shot out of some hidden doorway he hadn't noticed. Instantly, Randy tensed. Eying the man suspiciously. He was tired, hungry, and had only the team's ship landing nearby to offer him comfort. Despite their rocky meeting, Randy couldn't find it in him to dislike the team. The boy with the strange s symbol on his shirt (and it did look pretty honking bruce) had shown nothing but concern, and the Nomicon had been strangely quiet the whole time, only butting in with little doodles showing him where to go next. He figured that was as good as a sign of approval as he'd get from the book, since it didn't actively consider them dangers. And it was a pretty smart book, so he trusted it.

Still, looking over the armored form and feeling his heart speed up in his chest as he readied a hand to withdraw his sword- or perhaps his sai- for combat, he was uncertain if he had been correct to trust them. "Who are you, and why are you here?"

A robotic voice, calm and monotone with odd spacing between the words. He withdrew his sword, holding it level and moving subtly to defend Howard if necessary. Was it a McFist bot, that followed somehow through the strange black fire the Tengu had summoned that had dragged them both halfway across a country? He didn't know, but if it made a move against his friend.. He narrowed his eyes, and shifted his stance a little. As soon as it moved, he'd be ready.

The confrontation, impressive though it may have been, never came to pass. A dark skinned figure- Aqualad, landed heavily between them. "Red Tornado," He said, turning to the red clad man- robot? "I apologise, we were caught up in discussions and forgot to radio in about the mission's result." He turned to Randy, hesistant. "This is Ninja, we discovered him and his bird to be the source of the fires."

Red Tornado nodded, expression unreadable, and his voice gave no clues to how he felt. Was he using some sort of voice modulator, or was that just his voice? "I see. Will you require holding areas for your… Guests?"

Randy coughed, drawing the attention back to himself. "The Tengu will be fine sleeping outside, so long as this rock isn't flammable. Anyway, didn't your friend with the weird shirt want to pick my brain about Tengu or something? He seemed pretty insistent on dragging me back here and it was a pretty long flight, you know…" A yawn came alone just in time, and Randy shrugged sheepishly.

"Perhaps you should come inside, Ninja… We can discuss what to do better there." Aqualad's voice was strong, despite his uncertainty about the safety of the idea. Red Tornado turned to face him, and Aqualad met the robot's gaze levelly. With a subtle nod to the Atlantean that Ninja missed, Red Tornado moved aside from the path that led into the cave. Aqualad gestured for Ninja to follow, and with only a small amount of hesitation he followed.

* * *

"Wow! This place is huge! What do you do with all this space?" Ninja couldn't seem to disguise his wonder, and Kaldur gave him a level stare, still leading him to the common area they used for resting as a team.

"Remember why you are here, Ninja." Randy turned to face him, eyes wide with curiosity, "We know nothing of you and have shown a great deal of trust in bringing you here, but if you should prove to be a threat we have all the facilities required to neutralise you here."

What he could see of the Ninjas face paled, and the eyes narrowed, something shining in those blue orbs. They turned away and hunched over, turning ominously quiet. Kaldur eyed him wearily, worn out by attempting to deal with the emotional ups and downs of their character. First defensive, then aggressive, playful, tired, cheerful, hurt…. This unknown person had a wider emotional range than most of the team, he realised with a start.

Too soon, they arrived. The team was waiting, and all of them except M'gann were showing irritated expressions. It was 1AM, and most of them would rather go to sleep than carry on with the mission since it was almost done at this point. M'gann smiled politely at them both, and Kaldur felt the gentle buzzing that indicated an active mind link enter his thoughts.

" _We have a plan, Kaldur. Robin's going to talk to him first, and we'll see where to go from there."_

Kaldur raised an eyebrow in their direction, suddenly grateful for the fact that the grumpy scarf wearer had decided to walk slightly ahead of him as it allowed him free reign of his expressions; however flat he tended to make them normally, they were a great asset in conversation. " _Is that all of it?"_

Robin smirked a little, " _It'll probably be all we need, he doesn't exactly scream hardened criminal, after all."_

" _Don't get ahead of yourself, little birdie."_ Wally snorted quietly. " _There've been plenty of enemies like that before."_

Robin shifted a little, just enough to get a well aimed elbow jab at Wally's stomach before beginning to walk towards their captive of sorts. As the speedster restrained the howl that comes from being winded by a vicious jab, Kaldur watched the Ninja carefully for any reaction. He had yet to recover from his stooped over position, and even his scarf looked mopey, dragging on the floor behind him. Had his words hurt him that much, he wondered?

Robin made it right the way over to within a feet of Ninja before he stopped. He hadn't been going particularly stealthily, but the Ninja had shown no sign of even noticing his presence. He turned half round, asking with his body language if they saw what he did. A few half shrugs and confused bits of eye contact confirmed his suspicions. This guy was definitely out of it, and no one knew quite why.

Hesitantly, he waved his hand under their face, near the eye hole in the mask. "Hello?" Nothing happened immediately, so he stepped back. He licked his lips nervously, " _M'gann, can you try scanning his thoughts?"_ He felt her recoil instantly at the idea, as well as the Team's building anger, and rushed to explain himself. " _Not deep like the mind link, just enough to see if he's… I don't know, having a flashback or something?"_

Robin shrugged helplessly, and M'gann smiled faintly in relief. " _I can do that."_ Briefly, the fuzz cut out and it returned after barely a moment had passed. M'gann had a shaky voice when she spoke in the link next. " _He's not there, just enough awareness to follow Kaldur and that's it. I… I don't know how to describe it..."_

Kaldur's eyes widened. Had he caused the Ninja to retreat so far into his own mind that he wouldn't respond to even a mental probe? Robin, on the other hand, took a different approach to the knowledge. If he was trapped in his own mind, the only way to get him out would be to give him something in the outside world to focus on. With that in mind, he reached out a hand and carefully, oh so carefully, shook the figure's shoulder.

The Ninja swayed in place for a moment, still blank, and then the Ninja fell heavily to one side. Robin barely managed to catch him, and he could have sworn he felt ribs through the armoured padding in the suit. Hopefully they were just naturally thin, but he knew that it was probably something more, given that they had been wandering across state borders for weeks with only a gigantic bird for company, and no visible supplies.

As he laid the clearly unconscious Ninja on their back and used the length of their scarf to prop up their legs in a basic recovery position, he turned to the Team, watching them briefly before turning back around to begin basic first aid, until someone came to a conclusion about what to do since their lead up and fainted on them. " _So."_

The team shared a look, and even Kaldur seemed uncertain as to what to do.

" _Should we bring him to the Medbay?"_ Kid Flash asked uncertainly.

" _I say we investigate the book first."_

" _What book, Superboy?"_ M'gann asked, confused. As she looked around she could not see any book off of the bookshelves in the corner, and was slightly alarmed at why he chose to mention a book at this point- with a fainted person in the way.

" _That book."_ He said, and pointed out a book peeking from the top of their red sash, held tightly down by it but escaping its bindings easily enough.

Robin growled under his breath, still crouched listening for breaths from under the mask that refused to . " _Our mystery boy probably just passed out from starvation, and you want to investigate his diary?"_ Connor recoiled at the tone, and barely reacted in time to catch the tossed book. The team gave him a concerned look, but moved to help Robin move the Ninja through to the Medbay silently.

Connor stared after them for a moment, and felt his stomach sink. He'd just wanted to know about the book- he'd forgotten about the reason he could see it at all- was that so bad? He turned the book over in his hands, and found himself admiring the soft, velvety cover with a faint smile. Dark blue, almost black, with red circles heading inwards and symbols inscribed all over it and a soft green gem, carved to resemble the mask. It was a work of art, and one the G-gnomes hadn't told him about. Gently, he stroked the gem with his thumb as he inspected the pages from the side, not feeling confident about the morality of prying open what may indeed be their newest guest's diary. The choice was taken from him, though, when the book threw itself open with a flare of red light and runes. With a bark of surprise, Connor Kent slumped forward, unconscious.

No one saw him fall.

 **A.N.**

 **Wow... Superboy's really taking over, huh? Poor boy keeps being all concerned and making me write him as a focal character! Kid Flash and Artemis sure need some screen time... Well, it mostly wrote itself this time. Difficult sticking to my plans when the chapters have a mind of their own- on the ninth plot revision at present.**

 **This week I've been busy volunteering at the zoo, and loving every minute of it so this was whipped up yesterday night and hasn't been proofread. At all, so. Yeah.**

 **The chapter will be dedicated to Sinclair this time, for the idea to have Superboy and Randy interacting. Seems its seeded. Also- out of curiosity, as your a guest- is your name after Sinclair Batson?**

 **As for the question from last chapter... Everyone seems to be leaning towards Batman, huh? Well, we'll see next chapter. ;) Until then, what characters do you think Randy will have the best, or worst time dealing with, and why? I'm interested in your responses, everyone!**

 **Please review, with all your thoughts, criticisms, and answers! This is CoreHope, signing out.**


	4. Chapter 4

Connor blinked his eyes open, dazed. Red light, and then his balance had been shot to hell and he was falling and then… He pushed himself up from where he'd fallen, revealing open plains that didn't look quite real. X ray vision revealed nothing- not even the surroundings. The place he was in shouldn't exist- not even the faint grey shadows of non metallic objects that he could normally spot. Blackness only. Feeling worse, He blinked back into normal vision, and tried to spot anything distinguishing the featureless ground apart. A few shrubs that looked as if they'd been drawn onto reality, and in the distance a waterfall.

With a deep sigh, he started walking in the direction of the waterfall, wishing halfheartedly for a map so he could see more of the surrounding terrain. He paused in shock when a paper scroll floated insistently next to his head. Wary, he reached out and unravelled it. "What the…" He whispered, seeing a mostly blank yellowed piece of paper. A splash of blue paint in the center, a little sketch of a circle with two lines running through it beyond it, and a compass indicating the cardinal directions sat neatly in the top right corner.

Confused, he looked in the direction indicated by the mask on the map. A few leaps had him in visible range, and he gasped. The Ninja lay collapsed on the dirt. Hesitantly, he reached his hand out to shake him awake, only to have his hand pass through with the sensation one got when punching paper- all the way up his hand where it passed through. With a hiss of surprise he pulled it back. "What is this? Why can't I touch him?"

 **This is the nomicon**

Connor blinked up at the message, bright green and cheery in the sky. "And what's a nomicon?"

 **The nomicon is where the ninja trains**

"But I'm not a ninja…." The message was scribbled out, as though by some giant sky coloured crayon. Connor pinched himself, just to confirm he wasn't dreaming. He felt the pain, and breathed a little quicker as he tried to understand what the heck was going on. "Can you tell me why I'm here, since I'm not a ninja?" He tried, hoping for a response.

 **The ninja and the tengu are forever linked. The tengu awakened is the restless ninja.**

"What the _heck_ does that mean?" He snarled up at the sky, then yelped in surprise as the ground itself opened up beneath him. And then he was falling and there was no ground and his breath wasn't working properly and whycouldn'thebreathe-!

And then he breathed in a _huge_ breath, and shot up. Silence greeted him, and he stared around wildly. Right, he thought dazedly, everyone had left and then he'd been transported to wherever the heck that was. He looked at the book cautiously, and placed it gently on a table. "Listen, I don't usually have a problem with books but if you do whatever the heck that was to me again I'm gonna get you _real_ friendly with a shredder." A angry red glow flared for a second, and then faded. He eyed the book warily, and walked briskly in the direction of the medbay.

The team should be informed.

* * *

Robin tugged at the mask, at the scarf, at anything he could reach. The suit- despite having some clearly removable gear like boots and a scarf, was proving impenetrable. This meant that they couldn't start with any medical treatment, or do anything at all to him. It was looking pretty bad for their guest, and for their mission too.

M'gann floated nervously by the door. "Robin? Maybe we should get someone from the league, this is getting serious…"

The others made sounds of agreement, and Robin threw his hands up in frustration. "Who do you _want_ to call, then? Flash, who's in the middle of Central City tied up with some heist by the Rogues? Martian Manhunter, who's off world? Superman- dealing with a press meeting about the league? Batman-"

"Who's watching you from the doorway?"

Robin's voice caught in his throat, and he turned to face the dark knight. "Batman, I didn't-"

The dark look on the man's face quieted any protests he had. "This is now League business. Leave the room."

A scowl settled itself on the Boy Wonder's face, and he stalked out of the room, head down. Artemis followed first, then the rest.

As soon as they closed the doors, they noticed Superboy who was walking quickly to them, a focused expression on his face.

"Supes?" Kid Flash blinked in surprise. "Figured you'd still be pouring over that book."

The kryptonian glared lightly. "That book was magic or something. Gave me a message.

Robin narrowed his eyes, "What sort of message?"

"'The ninja and the tengu are forever linked. The awakened Tengu is the restless Ninja.' Whatever the heck that means..."

Shrugging, Robin moved to lean on the wall opposite the door. "Maybe they've got sort of curse going on. Who knows with magic?"

Superboy grunted in acknowledgement, settling down on the floor. The team soon followed, taking up watch around the main door from positions of rest.

* * *

Zatarra walked along the halls of the Medbay, unsure why he had been summoned. Typically, the state of the art technology in all League locations was enough to diagnose any illness, and they had metahuman specialist doctors that all the heroes had picked up over time which made up for any deficiencies in diagnosis. Magic was rarely needed, in such a technologically advanced time as this.

The fact that it was Batman's stony face that greeted him in the room was surprising, but not by much. The patient was more surprising and he gasped as he recognised the distinctive outfit. Batman raised an eyebrow. "You recognise him." It was a statement.

Zatarra hurried to speak, despite his mouth going dry. "That boy there, he is the Ninja. From Norrisville- a town protected by magic and avoided by all who know of it. It's… A dark place."

Batman narrowed his eyes. "Why, then, was he out of his town?"

"I don't know- perhaps we should wait until he wakes up?"

"You know as well as I do that this is not a holding area. He will not wake up easily, unless we can do something."

"That is why you have summoned me here?" Zatarra questioned. "You are aware that technology will do a far better job in most instances, yes?" Batman responded with a flat look, and Zatarra winced. "Yes, alright then... _Dnif eht ssenlli!i"_

Initially the spell threw itself at the unconscious boy, searching for wounds and for ill organs as intended. Soon, though, the spell reared up in a cloud of magic, seeking escape from something- and then it flickered in place feebly. Zatarra exchanged a wary glance with Batman. The Bat watched the spell with silent focus, and was soon rewarded.

A bright blueish yellow child's scrawl of text hovered in the air in front of the two heroes.

 **Malnutrition**

 **Dehydration**

 **Split soul**

 **Full Soulbind**

 **Possession (Benevolent)**

Zatarra's breath hitched, and he met Batman's eyes with his own wild ones.

 **A.N.**

 **This chapter... Did so not want to be written. :D I think the first part was the best, but the rest... It followed the plan well enough but just didn't have any colour to it. Sorry about that. Next chapter, I'll try incorporating suggestions for scenes, so send those in if you have any.**

 **There will be a week** **break, this story will be returning on the first Thursday of September assuming I don't get killed while I'm in the south of England holidaying with family. As apology, I'll reply to any logged in reviewers via PM!**

 **This chapter is dedicated to Ph0enix17, for being the closest to getting the right answer to last question's chapter. Shout out to the guest Pam, too, since you've managed to make me change my plot.**

 **So, for the reviewers- all of you! I have three questions for you! You can pick and choose em, mix and match, I don't mind.**

 **1\. When do you think this is set? In the Young Justice timeline, that is. The RC9GN timeline is... Not much in terms of sense.**

 **2\. What scenes do you want to see, or what plotlines do you want to have incorporated? I'm open to ideas.**

 **3\. What is wrong with Randy?! That diagnostics spell sure didn't turn out the way they expected, but the results aren't wrong!**


	5. Chapter 5

Batman watched Zatarra, slightly alarmed by the man's startled expression. He chose not to speak, sensing that the magician had been deeply unsettled by the results- perhaps the soul was quite a dangerous thing to show up on a diagnostics spell? After a few long moments, Zatarra had finally composed himself enough to speak his mind.

"The spell must have been altered by the Ninja's magic, unconsciously. The symptoms are… Worrying."

Batman narrowed his eyes, pondering his friend's words. It was unusual for the man to be worried, few things other than his daughter could inspire such emotions in him as he was well acquainted with the dark sides of magic, being the main defence against mystical forces the Justice League had. "Define worrying."

The man turned his head to face the young person that laid upon the medbay bed, and his emotions could only be inferred from the slight hunching of his the stiffness of his posture. "The possession is benevolent, so whatever it is it's not harming him actively. It may be a deal similar to the one Kent Nelson had with Doctor Fate, so we needn't worry over that. The dehydration and malnutrition are probably caused by his trek through the northwestern borderlands with that bird, and can be treated if we can get him liquids and such."

The magician heaved a sigh, forcing his posture to straighten out as he turned to face Batman. "Soul magicks are an ancient art, but a fickle one. A full soulbind means that the state of his soul, his very existence, is tied to anothers in an exact mirror. If he is injured, the injury is shared. But this split soul is… Deeply troubling. A soul split is something that is difficult to undo, and needs to be purposefully created by something powerful enough to fight the souls natural unwillingness to split itself for an extended period of time."

As Zatarra spoke. Batman's expression darkened. "What do you suggest we do? This-" He gestured at the floating text with a hand, "Doesn't tell us how to get this person back to consciousness, only tells us that he is either incredibly unlucky or has a finger in the dark arts."

Zatarra recoiled. "The Ninja is not someone who would do such things!"

"And how do you know that?" Batman raised an eyebrow, skeptical. "You mentioned that he comes from a dark town, that is avoided by all who know of it. What's to say that he isn't the reason for his town's darkness?"

Zatarra's expression darkened. "The town is so dark, so steeped in evil that no one, not even the strongest Lords of Chaos, not the weakest dregs of the magical underworld, dares to visit. The Ninja is the town's only protector, and he has been told of in whispered tales by people unfortunate enough to find themselves passing through the barriers the town is hidden behind in tones of awe and fear."

Batman was, for a moment, silent. "Fine. You say he is a Hero, I will trust you on that. But how do we awaken him, then?"

Zatarra breathed a sigh of quiet relief, and looked closely upon the body. "I suppose we should start by getting him fluids."

Batman frowned, then reached a gloved hand out, feeling along the jawline for a gap in the threads. "How are we supposed to do that, then, when the suit is more impenetrable than Kryptonian skin? I can't see any seams we could feasibly pull this suit apart with." He demonstrated, lifting the Ninja's unconscious chin, to show the lack of grips.

Zatarra gave a slight laugh. "Please, let me try something."

The man gave him a blank, mildly irritated look, but conceded, moving to the other end of the bed. Zatarra leaned in, frowning slightly, and reached a hand out, before carefully making a motion as if to pull the mask up. Surprisingly, the mask yielded and the face, up to beneath the eyeholes where the mask bunched, was revealed. Batman narrowed his eyes. "What did you do?"

"I had the intention to move the mask only halfway up- I suspected there was some magic or other in the outfit, as it had no seams, and it may have had intent based-" Batman raised an eyebrow, and Zatarra shrugged. "Well, it worked. Are you going to…" He gestured at the half face. "Begin treatments?"

Batman looked silently at the young boy- the lower face couldn't belong to an adult, and the figure was distinctly male- for a long moment. "Yes."

Zatarra waited a moment for Batman to continue, but when no words followed, he sighed and stepped out of the room, into the hallway. In the direction of the kitchen- and also the zeta tubes he'd use to get home- the voices of the Team Batman had approved mere months ago floated through.

As he strode through the labyrinthine hallways, the murmur grew clearer and he stopped, curiosity overriding manners when he heard the conversation tilt in the direction of a giant bird.

"I still can't believe how big it was! I mean- how much would it eat?"

"Probably the same as you, Kid Mouth." Artemis' voice dripped with sarcasm.

" _I'm_ more interested in the fire. You reckon that was magic or something?"

"Not any magic I know of… Usually magic has to be actively cast."

"Well if it's not magic, its sure weird… Its the size of a house, bright orange, and constantly on fire. What sort of thing can even do that?"

Shortly after, the conversation drifted in the direction of the Ninja, whom he already knew much about. He resumed walking, silently travelling towards the Zeta tubes and frowned, running over creatures he knew of that fit the description. Nothing immediately jumped to mind, despite his best efforts, and he'd passed the table in the common area and had time to observe a strange book he couldn't recall seeing before, when it jumped out at him.

The tengu, of Japanese origin, was a perfect fit. While the myths most people knew spoke of a birdman type creature with a red face, the reality differed. Common in eras gone by, they were immensely powerful demons that possessed people. The only way to seal them away was a voluntary death by fire, with a broken open gemstone nearby, after binding the creature's soul to the demon. Many monks died to seal them away, devoting theirs and their family's lives to preventing the demon resurfacing. Tales of possessed people spoke of enormous, brightly coloured birds spilling one of the five elements constantly from their body, stealing the crops of farmers and leaving famine in their wake, but being otherwise harmless..

A giant bird, covered in flames, and bright orange fit the bill nicely. While the bird was worrying, his thoughts drifted back to the Ninja the Team had retrieved just a few short hours ago, and the symptoms. A full soulbind was worrying, but knowing the creature following him and the rapid travel they had been making… What if the Ninja was intending to die to seal the demon? His face became deathly pale, and he spun around sharply, making his way back to Batman. This was vital information.

 **A.N.**

 **So! We're back! I think I said this would be out first Thursday of September, which was because I'm bad at Maths :'D so there's that. Surprise? Unbetad though, so. Yep.**

 **This chapter goes out to the Keeper of Worlds once more, for having the most detailed- and most correct- answer to the question from last chapter. Hope everyone wasn't kept up at night theorising, and that this answered some of you... World building buffs' questions, but feel free to leave more in a review. I read every one of them, even if I only shout out one a chapter.**

 **Next** ** _chapter_** **a ton of the scenes you suggested will be coming into play, so thank you everyone for inspiration.**

 **Two questions this chapter, one of which you've already seen alot.**

 **1\. What do you want to see in future chapters?**

 **2\. What do you think the main differences are between the magic of the ninja, the Tengu, and the magic of the DC universe?**

 **See you all next chapter! And in your PMs, if you review logged in... :D**


	6. Chapter 6

Randy blinked his eyes open sharply, mind fuzzy. He'd been walking, then he'd seen the barest flash of the nomicons pages and now… White ceiling panels, bright and clean. Hospital smell. Groggily, he tried pushing himself up, noting that he was wearing the ninja suit still, but didn't get very far before something in his nose jerked sharply. He froze, looking down to see thin plastic lines stretching off beyond his field of vision, likely to some weird tech designed to figure out who he was.

A moment passed where Randy was frozen, before he realised what this meant. He pulled his hands up to his face, looking for the mask, only to have them catch halfway there against cuffs attached to the bed frame. His heart racing, he tugged at them frantically, and froze once more when a deep voice came from a corner of the room.

"Your mask is safe, Ninja."

Randy turned, confused. That confusion only grew when he saw a man, more a mass of dark shadows than a man, lurking in the corner. "Who the heck are you? Where am I? What have you done to me? Wh-"

"Calm yourself." The man stepped forward, detaching himself from the shadows. Most of his body was covered by a dark grey bodysuit, with a black bat on the center of his chest. He wore a yellow belt, and a cape, but the most prominent part of his outfit was his mask. Black as night, it covered all of his upper face, and had two pointed ears- he assumed- sticking off the top, while his eyes were obscured by white fabric. Randy tensed, unsure what to do. This man definitely looked like he could hurt him if he tried- and had probably been the one who restrained him and stuck whatever was in his nose there, so he definitely wasn't taking any chances.

"My name is Batman, and you are still at Mount Justice. This is the Medical Bay and, you were brought here after collapsing in the corridor." He paused, watching Randy for any unusual reactions, but the boy appeared to be genuinely surprised by the information, so he continued. "My colleague performed a diagnostics spell-"

"You have someone who can do magic here?" Randy was sat up as far as he could without hurting his wrists on the cuffs, and now fully focused on Batman. "Wait- there's magic for diagnosing things?"

"Yes. I placed a nasogastric tube-"

"A what?"

"In order to get you away from the state you were in."

As soon as Batman finished the sentence, the boy's expression shifted suddenly, from wary curiosity, to utter confusion.

"What state? I mean when-" Randy cut himself off, about to reveal something revealing he imagined. "Sometimes it was pretty wonk but I really felt fine, right up to… Then."

"You had dehydration, malnutrition, and… Soul magic at work."

"Soul magic?" Randy frowned, and tugged at the cuffs half heartedly. "I don't know anything about that, but I just need to find the other half of a gem and-"

Randy didn't quite get to complete his sentence, interrupted by a man bursting through the doors. "Batman-" The man finished stepping into the room, and , seeing Randy awake, froze briefly before turning his attention on the sentence he'd heard the tail end of. "A gem, you say?"

"Yeah- I'm just gonna seal the Tengu away. One half of the stone is… Somewhere around here, I'd guess, but I've been looking for it for a long while."

Zatarra's face had turned grim, and Randy wasn't certain why, until he spoke once more. "How do you plan to do that?"

"Well… The other time the Tengu escaped I just burnt the mask. It comes back, and works well enough. Just missing the other half of the stone, or I'd already be back in Norrisville." He shrugged as best he could, watching Zatarra's expression shift from dark and solemn to perplexed.

"Just the mask is burnt?"

"Yeah?"

"That's… Different to what I've learnt." The man regained his composure, a considerable feat.

Batman cleared his throat. "You intend only to seal the bird away, yes?"

"Yeah." Randy's face shifted into a scowl. "What difference does it make, anyway? You've got me cuffed to the bed, and stuck the nasa-gassy thing in me. I don't get what's going on, I just want to seal that bird away and _go home._ "

His voice rose at the end, frustration colouring his tone.

"Do you know how to get home, then?" Zatarra asked.

"Not really, but you can get maps anywhere."

"I mean-" Zatarra struggled for words for a moment. "How to get past the magical barriers?"

"There's barriers?"

Zatarra stared at the Ninja, unable to comprehend the sheer strangeness of those words. The Ninja too, stared at Zatara, surprise and curiosity in his wide eyes.

After a moment of long, stretching silence, Randy broke it. "Maybe the Nomicon- uh- maybe it's in the Nomicon. Have you seen it? Black book, red circle thingys, little green gem?"

Zatarra blinked. "I think I have, in the common area."

"Great!" The Ninja pushed himself up as far as he could, "Er, can I go get it?"

Batman gave him a dark look. "The reason for the nasogastric tube is because you were suffering malnutrition and dehydration, which likely came from your extended trek in the wilderness."

"But I feel fine!" Randy protested.

"Regardless, the symptoms were severe enough to show up on Zatarra's spell. You will not be allowed to move from that bed until it stops showing up."

"But-" Randy floundered for words, "What if it doesn't show up on the spell?"

"Given how quickly you awoke…" Batman paused for a moment, running the numbers inside his head. "That would be at least 2 days from now."

"Two days! Come on, I can't wait that long. The Tengu needs to be sealed as soon as possible and that stone is somewhere around here- nevermind Norrisville! The town is probably overrun with monsters by now!" He was clearly terrified, but so determined that Batman almost had second thoughts.

Batman nodded his head to Zatarra, and the man gave him a look. "You're sure…?"

"Yes."

Zatarra took a moment to breathe, relax his mind and call upon the magic he had learnt to use so well over the years. Randy blinked, watching Zatarra with a strange expression. He could feel the magic rising, like static electricity rolling off the man in thick waves.

" _Dnif eht ssellni!"_ Finally the power peaked, moving towards Randy in a rush of staticy energy and sinking into his skin. He flinched, and still the magic rustled around in his system, searching through every layer of his being for something. A moment passed, and it disapeared. Randy breathed again, his stark relief from the discomfort mingling with curiosity, as the Nomicon wrote words just above him, in stilted handwriting.

 **Malnutrition (mild)  
Full Soulbind  
Possession (benevolent)**

"I'm good to go, right?"

Batman breathed deeply. Forcing himself to calm down. "Just because it says mild, does not mean its gone. Your town and that bird will not be destroyed in the time it takes you to recover, I'm certain."

Randy grimaced. "Well, just let me go, alright?"

Zatarra exchanged a look with Batman, and the man averted his eyes, almost imperceivably under his mask. It was assent, though reluctant.

"This may be a little uncomfortable."

Randy raised an eyebrow as the magician began calling upon the magic from before, raising it around him in the same spilling waves. " _evomeR eht ebut."_ Randy grimaced as the tube was pulled by almost invisible hands steadily out of his nose.

"How does that even fit inside someone?" He stared at the tube, incredulous.

Zatarra gave an apologetic smile, and gestured for him to follow. Randy jumped out of bed, swayed a little, before gaining his balance, and after a moment, pulled his mask down and followed Zatarra out of the room.

 **A.N.**

 **Man, this chapter did not want to be written... But I hope I fulfilled my promise and gave you guys what you wanted. I started college this week, and its tough to find time now, but I'll keep with weekly Thursday updates so don't worry.**

 **Dedicating this one to 61394, with whom I had a long PM conversation that resulted in the uncovering of a kinda minor plothole which I will be resolving as soon as I get enough time to do so. Honorary mention to The Keeper of Worlds, who gave a beautiful- and correct- answer to last chapter's question.**

 **Question time!  
1\. Why was Randy unaware of his starvation/dehydration situation?  
2\. Why did the Split Soul symptom go away?  
3\. How, or when, do you think he will get back?**

 **Of course, future ideas for scenes are appreciated but I dont think you need reminding of that, do you? See you next chapter, or in your PMs!**


	7. Chapter 7

An uncomfortable silence hung over Randy and Zatarra as they strolled through the endless halls, to some unknown destination. Although he wanted t0 break it with a question, he knew there would be no point. Zatarra was shooting him concerned looks every so often. Did he know that he was just one of the many kids saddled with the mask and the duties of the Ninja? Or was he misreading it, and the concern was something else.

As he was lost in his thoughts, it took him awhile to notice that he recognised the room beyond the hallway. He shook his head a little to clear it, perking up. Up ahead was the huge room he'd been in when he collapsed, cavernous rugged brown rock stretched from floor to ceiling, with only the floor smoothed over.

As they stepped into the room, a red glow started to flash persistently just in the corner of his version. Hopeful, Randy turned in the direction of the light and his face split into a grin beneath his mask at what he saw. The Nomicon was there, in all its black and red glory, placed on the corner of the table roughly.

Worries forgotten, he ran over to the table and picked up the book, happy to be reunited with his strange mentor. Instantly, the flashing glow stopped, and Randy blinked. Hesitantly, he put it down fearing that he had offended the book, and immediately the flashing started again, along with an angry roar this time. He snatched it straight back up. "Nomicon! I'm not gonna lose you again, calm down, alright?"

With one last, pointed, flash that left Randy feeling suitably mollified the book stopped. With a sigh of relief, he placed it into his sash, knowing that it would disapear into the space that lay there after a moment or two.

"Is the book sentient?" The curious, italian accented voice he'd come to recognise as belonging to Zatarra came from over his shoulder and, had Randy still been holding the Nomicon, he would have dropped it.

"W-what?" Randy turned, looking at Zatarra.

"Is the book sentient? I've seen several artifacts in my time, but rarely have I seen something that gives such emotional responses as that."

"Well- uh..." His voice squeaked a little. "I don't know?"

"You.. Don't know?"

"Well, I mean... It gives great advice, and it doesn't like it if it's treated badly, but... I don't know about sentience, really." Randy rubbed the back of his neck nervously.

"I see." Zatarra looked like he wanted to say more, but managed to hold himself back. "You mentioned that you needed a stone to seal the demon?"

"Tengu. And yeah." Randy dug around in his sash space for a moment, and pulled out the half of the Eye of the Carp he'd managed to keep with him when the bird made that wonk portal thing. When he pulled it out he could immediately feel the ethereal tug pulling at the stone as it looked for its other half. "You've got some weird magic, can you do something to... I don't know, summon the stone?" Randy shrugged, curious.

"I can..." Zatarra smiled. "What do you mean by weird magic, by the way?"

"Ah... It uses weird words and you can feel it in the air when you're getting ready to do it. It's not like mine at all, you know? I can just-" He pushed out with his hands, gesturing to help explain his point "Focus a bit once I know the steps and woosh- magic. No buildup."

Zatarra smiled. "Interesting, when we have a moment I'd enjoy discussing the differences in our magics."

Randy blinked, "Uh... I guess." He shrugged, "But first, stone! We got a bird to seal away."

"Yes- sorry. _gnirB eht enotS ot eM!_ "

Randy repressed the shudder as the staticy energy rolled around Zatarra, and watched as the faint, near invisible, glow travelled deep into the ceiling. With a cracking sound that rung through the room, a small split formed in the ceiling. Gently, the half stone floated down and landed in Zatarra's cupped hands.

The magician passed it gently to Randy, and the boy placed the halves carefully together, checking that they fit together correctly. Thankfully, they did, and he cheered internally at the luck in having that be so simple.

Breathless with wonder, Randy looked up at Zatarra. "ThankyouI'mgonnagosealtheTenguwon'ttakelong!" And then promptly bolted in the direction of the exit to the beach, and more importantly to the outside of the mountain where the Tengu slept.

Zatarra stared for a moment, before his brain finished parsing apart the rapidfire- on par with the Flash's rambles- message. He grimaced, and turned to get assistance.

Grinning, Randy pulled himself over the final ledge to where he knew the Tengu- in Howard's body- had placed itself to rest after their long flight across half the continent.

His face fell. The Tengu wasn't there, the stone he had to seal it with was giving him no clues, and he wouldn't be able to slip away to ask the Nomicon a question for a relatively long time.

No comforting doodles, no words of Wisdom, not even the tug of a stone from centuries ago were left to guide him.

He sat down against a ledge, trying to take a moment to collect himself. Soon, Zatarra would come charging over that ledge with a legion of super people or robots or magic summons and they'd take him in and question him about where the Tengu had gone and he wouldn't even be able to answer until it wrought havoc somewhere far far away from here and he couldn't stop it.

"Hey." A voice came from over his shoulder and he twitched, not recognising it immediately. Young, rough, uncomfortable, and strangely familiar. Randy turned his head and was surprised to see the kid with the S shirt standing behind him, looking every bit the uncomfortable teenager. "Zatarra said you bolted once you had the stone, and figured you went up here. He went to go find out what happened to the bird you came here with, since someone probably got called in to remove it."

"Remove it?" Randy stood up, concern for his friend overriding fear for that brief moment.

"You know, put him somewhere else." Randy's fists clenched in worry, "Probably just in a training room, but there're a ton of those so. That's why he had to go find someone."

"Oh- uh- thanks. For coming up here. I always run in headfirst, so it's nice to have someone level headed- that's not a book- talk to me."

Superboy raised an eyebrow. "I'm level headed?"

"Compared to... Pretty much everyone I know." Randy smiled beneath his mask.

"I'm normally the one who's rushing into things on The Team... Actually, do you do training?"

Randy grimaced, reaching for the back of his neck in a nervous tic. "I learn stuff when I have to, really."

Superboy shifted on his feet, "Do you want to spar, or something? It'll be awhile until they get back, probably."

"You sure? I'm pretty strong, actually..."

In lieu of a response, Superboy punched a boulder and smirked as it shattered.

"Wow. Okay- that- that's strong too. Sure, lets go!"

Randy grinned, and leapt back to create more space between him and Superboy, drawing twin sais from the Space and holding them ready to fight. Superboy gave a roar, and charged at Randy, fist cocked back for a knockout punch. When Randy dodged, rather than losing his balance he dropped backwards and swung one leg sharply into Randy's waist, sending him flat to the ground.

After a sharp intake of air, the Ninja recovered his standing position, and was charging at Superboy for a strike with the sais to the stomach, flipping over to strike at the back at the last minute when Superboy dodged the initial strike.

The battle continued on, neck for neck, for nearly an hour before anyone came looking to see either of the boys.

 **A.N.**

 **Started using the app Cold Turkey to help me write- and it was a great help! Got this done two days earlier than planned, and it even has TWO scenes in it! Which, to anyone noting down the length of chapters... Will know that its been awhile since I hit two scenes. I'll be aiming for the next chapter to be three scenes long, so feel free to rag on me if I mess up.**

 **The dedication for this chapter goes out to LuffyLover27, who guessed absolutely correctly the answer to the question of last chapter! Also, a concerned shout out to all the guest reviewers who left no review last chapter. ^^;**

 **In the meantime, think on this: If Randy seals the Tengu away succesfully, how will people react?**

 **Thanks a bunch for reading! See you next chapter.**


	8. Chapter 8

Kid Flash stretched from his position, sprawled out on one of the sofas in the common area. "Shouldn't Connor be back by now? It's been what... 3 hours?"

"It's only been 2 hours, stop overexaggerating." Artemis rolled her eyes. "They probably got called back in by Red Tornado anyway, so-"

"Let's go see them!" Artemis turned her head, surprised at M'gann's exclamation. "It'll be fun, and anyway, what's the worst that could happen?"

Robin snickered. "Really, M'gann? With our luck a meteor could strike us down as we walked there, and we'd be invaded by spooky aliens."

"But that's not exactly gonna happen, is it Rob?"

"Eh, was a joke KF." Robin shrugged, standing up. "Sure, why not?"

Miss Martian smiled, happy, and the team began walking through to the roof entrance that Superboy had most likely used, unless he decided leaping over the mountain was a good plan.

Robin was the first to reach the entrance, and when he poked his head out he blinked, to double check what he was seeing. Carefully, he closed the door and turned to face his team. Aqualad was closest to him, and gave an inquiring look.

"I think they're play fighting." Robin said, slowly, placing special emphasis on the `think`.

"Play fighting?" Wally grinned. "Well, I always knew Connor was a kid at heart."

"Perhaps we should return later?" Aqualad suggested, and the team hummed in agreement, not wanting to walk in on what was either a bonding moment or an outright brawl between two superheroes.

They strolled down the corridors, at a more leisurely pace this time, and soon split off, some to their bedrooms, and others to the kitchen.

Robin, personally, had decided to go to one of the many gyms in the area, intending to make use of the gymnastics equipment for a light round of practice, but he was interrupted before he got there by Red Tornado.

The android stepped across his path, and nearly walked into him were it not for Robin jumping back just enough. Surprised, Red Tornado turned to face Robin. "Which way were you heading?"

"To the gym, why?"

"I was heading to the roof to retrieve Ninja, as I have located the Tengu. The directions were incorrect."

"What room? I'll go grab him for you."

"47-D..." Although the android was not capable of facial expressions, Robin could have sworn it would have looked curious if it could have.

Nevertheless, he had a Ninja to retrieve now, so Robin turned around, in the other direction to the gym, and headed straight for the roof for the second time in the hour. He seemed like a nice enough person, despite the weird stuff they had going on with them, so Robin was eager to get along with the strange new Hero and learn more about him in the process.

When he opened the door again, cautiously, he was surprised for the second time. No longer were the two boys brawling, but instead laid down on the rocky roof to rest. Superboy had his eyes closed, but his breathing was quick enough that he could see it from a distance, indicating that the fight had turned into a battle of endurance rather than skill- not that either of them seemed to have the latter.

The Ninja lay a scant few meters away from his team mate, slower breathing but with his eyes set to the sky, where the faintest orange rays of evening sun were stretching across the view.

Silently, Robin padded over, and shook the Ninja gently with his foot. The reaction was instant, and hilarious. First, they shot up in surprise, then they stumbled over their scarf, and tripped backwards, rolling for several metres until they dropped off a ledge. The scarf came back after a moment, hooking around a large, heavily dented, boulder, so Robin figured that the Ninja hadn't fallen to his doom, and was merely hanging just off the edge of view.

Curious, he stepped forward and looked over the edge, only to have his eyes widen in surprise. Instead of being just out of view with the scarf holding him up, he was hanging several feet off the cliff-face, the scarf loosely swinging, yet taught enough to hold his weight. He was swinging back and forth, trying to gain enough momentum to hit the cliff face, it seemed. Eventually, he swung far enough back that he hit it, and Robin almost winced. Instead of the face first crash he was expecting, the Ninja was now in a half crouch, feet and palms flat against the rock face, held on by something he couldn't see. It didn't take long after that for the Ninja to reach the top, and the saphire eyes gave him a distinctly disgruntled look over.

"Not the worst wake up I've had, but could you try to be nicer about it next time?"

Robin shrugged. "You were the one who rolled off the cliff after tripping on your ridiculous scarf, not me."

"Leave the scarf out of this!" The words seemed heated, but the posture betrayed the humour and Robin smiled. It seemed like his initial assessment was correct.

"What's it even there for, anyway?"

"Uh..." The Ninja blinked, momentarily stumped. "It lets me grab stuff, and works like a hookshot sometimes. And it looks totally bruce!"

Robin blinked underneath his mask, filing away the strange descriptor to look up afterwards.

"Oh, hey, I almost forgot. Your bird buddy's in room 47D- No- don't run off-" Ninja paused, stopping his feet from going in the direction of the mystery room. "It's in a really weird place. I'll take you to it."

"You will? Great!"

Although the walk started off calmly enough, the Ninja quickly grew bored. It was hall after rocky hall of rocks in halls. Finally, he could take the silence no more, and burst out, "Hey, what do you get when you divide Sin(gerine) by Cos(gerine)?"

Robin almost tripped in surprise, but hurried to finish before the Ninja did. "A _tan_ gerine! Do you know why plants hate maths so much?"

"Because it gives them _square roots_! Oh man…" Although only his eyes were visible, Robin could tell he was grinning under the mask. "You know, math puns are a _sine_ of a big problem."

"We can always _add_ to it. You know what happened when the past, present, and future all walked into a bar?"

"I hear it was quite tense. Why doesn't Do like Re or Un?"

"Because they always try to start something! Dude! Where are you _getting_ all these puns from?"

"Without the internet life has no memeing."

Robin almost gaped, and was about to come back with another pun, but realised where he was. "Here we are… 47D."

The Ninja perked up, suddenly seeming so much more innocent, and Robin gestured to the door. The Ninja gave him one last look, "Thanks." And then he was gone. 

* * *

Inside the room, door safely shut behind him, Randy grinned ruefully underneath his mask, Although he wouldn't be here for long- not if he could help it- he had really enjoyed the company of Robin for the few moments he'd spent with him while fully aware.

Still, he wouldn't be able to replace Howard, no way, and now that the Eye of the Carp was almost hole again, he could seal the demon away and finally- finally have his buddy back after what, three weeks? Too long, that's for sure.

The Tengu slept on the floor, wings and tail coiled tightly around his oversized form. Randy glanced around, checking the cameras and finding them to be suitably melted hunks of plastic to be nonfunctional. The Tengu must have put up a fight at some point, or seen fit to destroy them. He'd never understand the giant bird, even when Howard was mostly the one holding the controller it still slipped through.

With his heart racing away in his chest, he walked quietly over to the bird, watching its chest rise and fall for several long moments before he finally plucked up the courage to do what he'd been trying to do ever since the stank had messed with the stone and he'd ended up on the west coast. With one last steadying breath, Randy tossed a Ninja Fireball into the air, and tossed the mask in in one fluid motion. The great bird rose with a surprised screech, before diving at him, flames pooling at its ethereal wing tips. Randy thrust the gem in front of him, and the deafening rush of wind that ensued as the demon was sucked in almost made him drop it.

The mask, reddened from the flames reformed from its ashes and drifted softly to land in his hand, but Randy was almost unaware of it. Howard was back, his small handed, short, kinda chubby best friend, was back. Blearily, the ginger rubbed his head, looking at Randy through half lidded eyes. "Randy…?"

"It's over, Howard. You're back to normal."

They met each others eyes for a long moment, before breaking into a bone crushing hug.

 **A.N.  
It's been a long week. I'm tired. You're probably tired and annoyed at the late updated. Let's just curl up with a nice cup of hot chocolate and bemoan our life choices together, yeah? Yeah, good plan.  
**  
 **Almost forgot... For the most absurd, incomprehensible review the dedication is to Casey. It stuck in my mind for a few days. Loved reading them all too.  
**  
 **CoreHope, signing out. Till next time.**


	9. Author's Note

**Working on this story has been a wild ride, and I've appreciated everyone's support so very much, but its time for a break. Between college, volunteer work, and other stuff going on in my life I don't presently have the time to work on this. I'll probably pick it back up in the next holiday break, but I don't know. Sincerest thanks for your support, everyone.**


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